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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25578106">The Skating Rink</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/storiesfromsaturn/pseuds/storiesfromsaturn'>storiesfromsaturn</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Miraculous Ladybug</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/M</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-07-28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-07-28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 03:27:10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,498</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25578106</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/storiesfromsaturn/pseuds/storiesfromsaturn</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Marinette is invited to couple's night at the skating rink with all of her friends but is disappointed when Adrien seems to not show up.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Alya Césaire/Nino Lahiffe, Ivan Bruel/Mylène Haprèle, Juleka Couffaine/Rose Lavillant, Marc Anciel/Nathaniel Kurtzberg</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>42</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>The Skating Rink</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>I wrote this about two years ago but didn't have anywhere to post it or anyone to read it, so I hope you like it! It's basically just cute Adrienette stuff :)</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Ladybug, do you have a couple seconds for an interview?”<br/>
“Excuse me, Ladybug, would you be interested in doing an interview for the news?”<br/>
“Ladybug, could you spare a minute?”</p><p>The reporters were bombarding her with questions. Usually she would try to answer a few (it made her look more personable to the public), but she had used her lucky charm early in the fight and only had one minute left on her earrings. </p><p>“Sorry everyone, but I have to go. Bug out!” She said, flinging her yo-yo and flying above the streets. There had been so many akumatizations recently that no one batted an eye at the sight. Just before her transformation wore off, she managed to duck into an empty alleyway.</p><p>“You should really be more careful, Marinette. That was a close one!” Tikki said as Marinette pulled out a macaron from her purse and fed it to her.  </p><p>“I know, Tikki, but those reporters can’t seem to let me go sometimes!” Tikki finished the macaron quickly and opened her mouth to reply, but before she was able to, Marinette started talking again. </p><p>“Oh NO! I promised Alya I’d meet everyone at the roller rink by 6!” Marinette quickly turned on her phone and checked the time. 5:41. </p><p>“Don’t worry, Marinette. There’s still time! I bet you can make it there with time to spare!” Tikki said before flying inside Marinette’s purse. </p><p>“You’re right. Just as long as I don’t get lost.” </p><p>Marinette started bolting down the street, not exactly sure where she was going. When she was on the roofs as Ladybug she had been more concerned about her identity being revealed than getting close to the roller rink. After turning a few corners, Marinette realized that the roller rink was in the opposite direction and immediately turned around. Her luck as Ladybug had gotten her close to it, but that luck didn’t translate much between her identities. </p><p>Before walking into the rink, she turned her phone on to check the time again. 5:55. Tikki was right after all. </p><p>She pushed open the door and was immediately greeted by a group of couples from her grade.  </p><p>“Marinette got here 5 minutes early? That has to be a record!” Alya exclaimed before running up to Marinette. “Girl, you’re in luck! It’s couple’s night! We invited every couple we know!” Alya moved closer and whispered inside Marinette’s ear. “And every soon-to-be couple.”</p><p>“Alya!” Marinette pushed Alya away and quickly scanned the room. She saw nearly everyone from her grade (even Marc and Nathaniel had showed up, which was rare), but no Adrien. “He’s not even here!” She said quietly through gritted teeth. </p><p>“Don’t worry, girl! Adrien said his dad’s letting him come!” Alya replied, pulling out her phone to show her the texts she got from him. </p><p>“Really?!” Marinette took the phone and looked at the messages. She could barely remember the last time he was allowed to be at one of these get-togethers. </p><p>“I know! Girl, you can’t throw away your shot tonight! Who knows when he’ll be allowed out of the house again!”</p><p>“But what am I gonna say to him? What if he wants to skate with me and I fall on him and trip him and he gets mad and then he tells me he hates me and never wants to talk to me again and-” </p><p>“Marinette, you know that’s not gonna happen.” Alya cut her off before her rambling got worse.</p><p>“Marinette! Alya! We’re going into the rink! Come on!” Rose called the two over to the counter and paid for both her and Juleka. Nino was behind them in line, waiting for Alya to join him.</p><p>Marinette sulked. She knew Adrien’s father would probably cancel last second and she’d be alone yet again. That’s what usually happened at events like these, anyways. </p><p>“Don’t give up so easily Mari, he’s probably on his way right now! Maybe his photoshoot ran a little over or something.” Rose and Juleka had finished paying, so Nino called both of them over. “Let’s go!”</p><p>Both of them walked over to the counter to get into the rink.</p><p>“Just the two of you?” The man asked Nino.</p><p>“Actually, the three of us please.” He held out the money while Alya dealt with Marinette’s protesting him paying for her. After a couple seconds, Marinette realized she wasn’t going to win the argument and just accepted their generosity. The man handed Nino three neon green wristbands and the group walked into the rink. </p><p>“You sure you’ll be okay by yourself? If you want some company, just say the word!” Alya asked Marinette as she helped her put on a wristband.</p><p>“I’ll be fine. You two go have fun!” Alya gave her a concerning look before being pulled away by Nino to the skate rental area.</p><p>Marinette sighed. This usually happened at events like this, but it didn’t make it any easier on her. Why couldn’t she have just fallen in love with someone who was actually allowed out of the house? It would have been so much easier. </p><p>After a minute of standing and watching the skaters, she decided to go get a slushie from the snack bar. The line wasn’t very long (there weren’t many people there other than her classmates), so she got it pretty quickly. After taking a sip, she found an empty table and sat down.</p><p>“Marinette, are you okay?” Tikki asked through her bag. </p><p>“I’m fine, Tikki. Just feeling a bit lonely. Want some slushie? It’s red.” She tipped the straw down and Tikki took a sip. </p><p>“Mmm, delicious!” Tikki said, giggling. She noticed Marinette looking sadly at all the skaters. “Marinette, you can still have a fun time without Adrien! Why don’t you get a pair of skates and go out on the rink. Then if he does show up, you’ll have had some practice!”</p><p>“Thanks, Tikki.” Marinette responded. “But I’m clumsy enough. Adding wheels to the equation would just make things worse. Besides, I’d be the only one out there not in a pair, and who wants that?”</p><p>“Whatever you think. Can I have another sip?” Marinette tipped the straw down again and Tikki took another sip. Once she was done, she set the cup down on the table and watched the skaters again. What was so important that Adrien couldn’t even come roller skate with her? Her thoughts wandered for a while while she watched them lap the rink over and over.</p><p>A tap on her shoulder brought her back to reality.</p><p>“Marinette?” It was a voice she knew all too well. </p><p>“A-Adrien?!” </p><p>“Sorry I’m late! There was a huge traffic jam and my father didn’t want me to just walk here like everyone else.” Marinette was so stunned she didn’t reply. “Are you feeling okay? You looked a little sad just now.”</p><p>“Oh, me? Nah! I-I was just... tired! Y-yeah!” She stammered. </p><p>“Oh, okay. I was planning on skating since I’m not usually allowed to come to these things, but if you’re too tired, that’s okay. I can go by myself.” </p><p>“Oh, no! I’ll skate with you!” She quickly replied. </p><p>“Awesome! Let’s go grab some skates!” </p><p>The pair walked over to the skate rental table. Marinette opened her bag and gave Tikki a quick smile. </p><p>“What can I get you two tonight?” The woman asked. She had long, red hair that was pulled back into a french braid and a hat on with the name of the rink on it. “We have some Ladybug and Chat Noir skates, if you’re interested!”</p><p>“I’ll take a size 10, whichever ones you have. Surprise me!” Adrien replied. </p><p>“Size 7, and s-same here.” Marinette told the woman. </p><p>“Okay, I’ll be back in a second!” She walked to the back of the shelves of skates. Neither of them said anything until the woman came back with a pair of Chat Noir and Ladybug roller skates. She handed the green and black ones to Marinette and the red spotted ones to Adrien. </p><p>“How about these?” The woman asked. </p><p>“These are perfect, thanks!” Adrien said, expecting the conversation to end there. But before they both walked away the woman said one last thing.</p><p>“You guys make a super cute couple, have a fun time!”</p><p>Marinette’s face turned deep red, but because of the dark lighting Adrien didn’t seem to notice. However, it worked in Adrien’s favor too as Marinette didn’t see Adrien’s slightly pink face either. </p><p>“How about we move to that bench over there to put our skates on?” Adrien suggested. </p><p>“O-oh yeah. S-sure!” Marinette agreed. </p><p>They both walked over to the bench and started putting on their skates.</p><p>“That’s weird that that lady said that to us, don’t you think?” Adrien said as he started tightening his laces.</p><p>“Ohhh yeahhhh that’s pretty weird isn’t it? I mean it is couples night after all so she probably saw us and thought we were a couple which I guess isn’t suuuuppper bad, is it? Or maybe it is. Or-” </p><p>Nino came up behind them from inside the rink. “Hey, dude, you finally showed!” </p><p>“Hey Nino! Yeah, there was a lot of traffic and my dad didn’t want me to walk.” Adrien said after he finished tying his laces. </p><p>“No worries dude, I’m just glad you’re here! I better get going, Alya’s just about caught up to me. Have fun guys!” He skated back to the rink and Adrien turned back to Marinette, who was still tying up her laces. </p><p>“It’s couples night, huh?” He asked. </p><p>“Y-yeah... “ Marinette responded, trying to focus on her laces and not his face. She didn’t want to embarrass herself just yet. </p><p>Adrien decided to watch some of the couples skating while he waited for Marinette to finish tying her laces. Nino and Alya were now going at a slower pace around the track while holding hands and talking, Rose and Juleka were racing each other, Mark and Nathaniel were heading towards the snack bar, and Ivan and Mylene were standing against a wall inside the rink talking. He was lost in thought, but managed to see Marinette struggling with her laces. </p><p>“Need some help?” He offered. Marinette shook her head yes and he leaned down to tie her laces for her. </p><p>“Now for the hard part. Standing up.” Marinette said after he finished. Adrien took her hand and helped her up off the bench. Her face turned bright red and for a second she thought she’d fall, but luckily the floor was carpeted so her skates didn’t move much. </p><p>Just as Marinette and Adrien were about to skate, Rose and Juleka raced by and waved. Adrien casually waved back, but Marinette was gripping onto the side of the rink too hard to raise a hand so she just smiled at them. Adrien easily jumped onto the skate rink as Marinette was carefully lowering herself onto it. </p><p>/Just one foot, Marinette. You can do it. Easy, easy, DON’T FALL!/ She thought as she was easing her foot down. She summoned every bit of balance and coordination she had as Ladybug and set it down. /Phew! I didn’t slip!/ But just as she refilled her confidence, a couple skated by fast and she jumped. Her skate started sliding and she was gripping the wall for dear life. Luckily, her grip was stronger than her balance and she managed to pull herself up, both skates on the rink. </p><p>“That was a close one, Marinette. You okay?” Adrien skated to the other side of her. </p><p>“I-I’ll be okay. Thanks Adrien.” She smiled. </p><p>“No problem! Should we skate then?”  </p><p>“Oh, uh, yeah sure!” She knew she wasn’t coordinated enough to actually skate, but she was going to try. </p><p>Adrien started gliding in front of her and Marinette thought he forgot about her. But when he looked back and saw that Marinette hadn’t moved an inch, he turned around and skated back to her. </p><p>“Here, the trick to skating is to have equal weight on each of your feet, then alternate which foot you push out on. Watch me.” He skated ahead a couple steps, then came back to her. </p><p>“Oh, okay. I guess that makes sense.” She thought about his advice for a second. </p><p>“Here, let me help you.” He held out his hand to Marinette and she very confidently let go of the edge to take it. </p><p>“Now remember, alternate which foot you push out on.” He pushed off once and Marinette followed, surprisingly succeeding. “You’re doing it!” </p><p>Before she knew it, the two of them were skating around the roller rink holding hands. And somehow it felt super natural to both of them. </p><p>After only about 10 minutes of skating, both of them decided to go to the snack bar to get something.</p><p>“We’ll have one soft pretzel, please.” Adrien told the woman as he handed her a few dollars and spare coins. Marinette stood behind him timidly, and once he was handed the pretzel they went back to their table. </p><p>“Having fun?” Adrien asked as he set the pretzel down. </p><p>“Oh, yeah, you are fun to be had! Err, I mean, fun I am with you! Argh, I mean... I’m having fun... with you.” She slowed her speech finally to clarify what she meant. </p><p>“Oh, that’s cool. ‘Fun I am with you too.’” He teased her. Marinette sulked and internally yelled at herself for not slowing down the first time. </p><p>“Sorry, Marinette. I was only joking.” He put his hand on her shoulder and Marinette was immediately cheerier. </p><p>They continued eating their pretzel and watching the couples skate by. Marinette was mainly looking at the couples who looked like they had been together for a while, while Adrien was paying closer attention to (what looked like) the newer couples. They quickly finished the pretzel and were soon back on the rink, and this time Marinette didn’t struggle as much getting on it. </p><p>Shortly after they started skating again, Alya skated over to Marinette frantically. She noticed other people leaving the rink as well, but didn’t realize why they were being so frantic about it. </p><p>“Mari-nette! There’s an akuma! I just saw it fly through the window!” Marinette started flipping through the excuses in her head as to why she couldn’t stay when Alya grabbed Nino (who had alerted Adrien as well) and quickly pulled him outside, all the while yelling about how she ‘wasn’t gonna miss this because Ladybug was gonna be there’ and she ‘had to report to the Ladyblog’. </p><p>Just as Marinette was going to skate off into the bathroom to transform, Adrien stopped her. </p><p>“I’m so sorry Marinette, I uhh... My father wants me home right away! See you at school!” He was out of sight before she could even say goodbye. </p><p>“That’s convenient, I guess.” Marinette thought out loud to Tikki. She was sad the night had to end, but now that the entire rink was cleared out she could transform without anyone seeing her. </p><p>“Tikki, Spots on!”</p>
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